


You'll Be the Death of Me

by niteryde



Category: Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z
Genre: Dragon Ball Z - Freeform, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-15
Updated: 2017-01-04
Packaged: 2018-03-18 00:14:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3548885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/niteryde/pseuds/niteryde
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Vegeta is determined to reach his full potential and help destroy the androids when they arrive. If only that woman would just stop distracting him, and stop looking at him like that...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Bots

He was born to be the greatest warrior the universe had ever seen, and he was going to stop at nothing until he finally achieved the power that was his birthright.

Vegeta's body was screaming for rest, but the floating bots were ready to attack again. He grit his teeth, breathing heavily as he struggled just to remain standing in the unbearable force of 350 times Earth's gravity. He'd been working nonstop for two straight days without so much as a water break, fueled by a fierce and stubborn determination not to quit. In the back of his mind, seared forever into his memory, was a constant motivator: the image of a third class Saiyan and a kid from the future both making the legendary Super Saiyan transformation before his very eyes. It was an insult to his pride and honor as the Prince of all Saiyans that he was being outclassed. Just thinking about that sight, about others reaching a level that was destined for him and for him alone, it made Vegeta want to scream with rage. It was that very rage that was keeping him standing.

He blinked sweat out of his eyes, squinting at the bots that were in front of him. Bracing himself, Vegeta put his senses on full alert in anticipation for the next attack when his sensitive hearing picked up loud laughter right outside the gravity chamber. Without wanting to, he immediately placed the person laughing as that annoying, loud-mouthed blue-haired wench. He took a quick glance towards the laughter with an annoyed sneer, his attention diverted for only one second.

He instantly paid the price. Looking over at the side, Vegeta didn't have time to get up a defense before an energy beam slammed into his ribs and knocked him back against the wall of the gravity room. Falling on his back, he hissed in pain as he clutched his ribs and squeezed his eyes shut, the embarrassment stinging more than the physical pain. It was completely unacceptable for a Saiyan Elite like him to get  _distracted._ If the bots would've been the androids, he'd be dead. Slowly, Vegeta rolled over and by willpower alone, he painfully got back up to his feet.

Taking a deep breath to soothe his burning lungs, he clenched his teeth together hard and brought his hands back together. Light instantly pulsed from his hands as he summoned up the little energy he had left, before unloading a blast that destroyed all of the bots in sight, sending them all crashing to the floor. Vegeta smirked a little in satisfaction, before slowly and painfully trudging over to the control panel in the room. The relief was instantaneous and would have likely sent him to the floor if he didn't have the control panel to lean on. He couldn't keep his smirk from spreading though. Not too much longer and he was going to be used to 350 times Earth's gravity.

Vegeta glanced over at the fried bots and remembered the distracting laughter he had heard earlier. His smirk disappeared, replaced by a deep scowl at the memory. These goddamned humans were so annoying, but he unfortunately had to deal with them. His strength slowly coming back, he pushed away from the control panel, going to find one of them.

He had a specific human in mind…

* * *

 

Bulma placed her left hand on her hip, while she squeezed her brand new cell phone in her right hand. Her only regret was that she wasn't squeezing Yamcha's neck instead.

"Are you calling me a LIAR?"

"Did I say that?"

Bulma exhaled through her nose in frustration, beginning to pace in her bedroom while trying not to trip over the mess on the floor. "Look here buddy, I have  _things_ I have to do! I have work to do tonight, and I just can't go see this movie with you!"

Over at his apartment, Yamcha rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Yeah, you're always busy, aren't you? Even I'm not as busy as you are and I've been training hardcore for these androids."

Bulma threw her head back and laughed loudly. "Oh  _puh-leeze!_ You have the most relaxed training program I've ever seen! Every single day you're calling me wanting to do something, but you forget that some of us have actual  _jobs_ to do around here."

"Hey, I  _am_  training hard!" Yamcha snapped, purposely not mentioning the fact that he currently had a baseball game muted on the TV. It was just bad timing; he deserved a break. He leaned back in his sofa and had a bitter look on his face when he added: "Just because I'm not killing myself every day like that jerk you're housing doesn't mean that I'm not going to be ready when those androids come."

"The only jerk I'm dealing with right now is the one ON THE OTHER END OF THIS PHONE!" Bulma shrieked, making Yamcha wince on the other end. "I told you that I'm busy and then you have the nerve to call me a liar!"

"Well, you wanted us to give our relationship a try again, but you hardly seem like you want to try! It's called making an EFFORT, Bulma!"

Vegeta's scowl deepened as he walked down the second floor hallway of the Briefs home. He heard the woman as soon as he walked inside from his training. That damn woman was so  _loud_  sometimes. She was such a nuisance, always with a response on her tongue whenever they ran into each other and actually exchanged some words outside of his training equipment. He'd never had anyone speak to him as freely as she did, and could still remember being stunned into complete silence the first time she'd fearlessly strolled right up to him and told him to his face that he needed a bath. If it wasn't for her familiarity with Kakarot and for her scientific knowledge and technical expertise, not to mention the sheer speed at which she could crank out her work, Vegeta had no doubt he would've ripped her head off by now.

He paused in the doorway to her bedroom, his dark eyes briefly scanning the room before finally settling on her. Bulma had her back to him while she ranted away on her cell phone, and his eyes slowly roamed her body while she continued her conversation with that weakling human that was always coming by the compound. That fool annoyed him even more than she did. At least the woman was actually useful with her gadgets and inventions. Her weakling mate wasn't even worth the effort and energy it would take to kill him.

"Excuse me?" Bulma yelled angrily, unaware that the Prince of all Saiyans was standing in her doorway. "You know what, FINE! I'll show you lack of effort you jackass!" She then hung up and threw her phone angrily on her bed, where it bounced and then went flying to the floor. She glared at it the whole way as if it embodied everything that was wrong about her off-again, on-again relationship with her boyfriend. "He is such a child… argh!"

"Woman."

Startled, Bulma spun around towards the voice, her breath momentarily catching in her throat at the sight of Vegeta standing before her. He had a white towel hanging from around his neck, the sweat still glistening off his chiseled chest from his training session. His hands were clenched into fists, as if he was bracing himself for a fight. His face was twisted into a menacing scowl as his dark eyes bore into her blue ones.

"Vegeta," she breathed out in surprise, one hand going over her heart while she wondered how long he'd been standing there. Vegeta's scowl deepened when he heard the soft way she said his name. Bulma took another breath, studying him curiously. "Is everything okay?"

"No, everything is most certainly  _not_  okay!" he snapped at her, and she frowned. Bulma straightened her back, placed her hands on her hips, and glared fiercely at him.

" _Now_ what's your problem, huh?" Bulma demanded.

"My  _problem_ ," Vegeta sneered, his tone scathing, "is that you were busy laughing it up right outside of the gravity chamber like the arrival of these androids is some kind of fucking party! How am I supposed to train when you and the rest of these idiot humans are distracting me? Do you  _want_ these androids to kill everyone, is that it?" he snarled, his voice rising with his rising fury.

"Now look here, you ass. In case you've forgotten, this is  _my_ house, Vegeta, and I'll do what I want, when I want. You have NO right barging in here and bossing me around!" she yelled at him.

Before he could think, Vegeta yelled back, "One of the bots you and your father created nearly killed me because of YOU distracting me!"

He regretted the words as soon as he said them. Bulma's features instantly softened, her blue eyes widening in concern as she gave him a quick once over, looking to see any bruises or injuries. She hadn't meant to get the man actually hurt, and she approached him to get a better look.

"What? What happened? Are you alright, do you need help?"

Vegeta started backing up instinctively, feeling extremely awkward as she came closer to him. What the hell was the woman doing? And why was she looking at him like that?

"I'm fine, woman!" he barked out. "I am a Saiyan warrior and the fiercest fighter in the entire universe! Your ridiculous robotic toys can't harm  _me_!"

Bulma stopped walking, and he felt an overwhelming sense of relief. The look of concern on her face melted away to one of amusement. She looked at him and smiled knowingly, and he suddenly felt very uneasy. He clenched his fists again and glared at her, trying hard to figure her out.

"Weeeell…" Bulma started, her smile widening as he gave a low, annoyed growl. She put her hands back on her hips and leaned forward a little, her smile turning into a playful smirk, "If you weren't in any danger, then what exactly is the problem with us using the area around the gravity chamber, tough guy?"

He bristled, fuming now and feeling his energy level rising, "BECAUSE IT'S DISTRACTING! I am working to help destroy these androids and save your miserable pathetic little planet, and all I want is peace and  _QUIET_!"

"Okay, okay," Bulma relented, backing up a little when she noticed that various items in the room were starting to levitate in response to the Saiyan's fury. "I'll sound proof it so you won't hear a thing, okay?" She gave him a small, warm smile. "We don't want your training to go to waste after all, right?"

Vegeta grunted, the offer taking the edge off his fury even though the menacing scowl was still on his face. Bulma gratefully noticed that nothing was levitating in her room anymore. The prince crossed his arms over his broad chest and stared at her with his intense gaze.

"Do it tonight then, so it will be ready for me in the morning," he ordered, his eyes hard. "Also, I destroyed those pathetic bots. I will need replacements immediately. Stronger and faster ones that are suitable for a warrior with my abilities."

Her own temper flared up instantly, "We just replaced those bots for you three days ago!"

"Well replace them again, woman! Maybe if you had a brain, you could build something that could actually last!"

" _Who do you think you are?"_ Bulma screamed at him. "You jerk, don't you know that I have a life too and I can't just spend every damned night repairing what  _you_ destroy? Small wonder you're not stronger than Goku, you can't do a damn thing with everything we've given you except destroy it!"

Vegeta's dark eyes flashed at the sound of his rival's name, before narrowing dangerously. He lowered his fists to his sides, clenching them tightly over the audacity this weak, human woman had.

"I mean…" Bulma stammered, trying to cover her tracks. She had struck a nerve and had wounded his pride, she could see it in his irate eyes. "You're not stronger than him  _yet,_ but you will be."

"If you  _ever_ question my abilities again, I guarantee you that it will be the last thing you ever do," Vegeta warned her, his voice ice cold.

"Vegeta…" She'd crossed the line, and she knew it. "I'm sorry, I-"

"Just fix the damn things, and stay out of my way," he growled, not liking the way she was looking at him again.

Vegeta turned and marched off towards his bedroom without another word. He was pissed off, frustrated, and sore as hell from training for two days straight. He wasn't one for giving into rest, but he needed it so he could at least recover enough to continue training.

_That woman_ …

He sneered at the thought of Bulma. She spoke to him like no one else had ever spoken to him. How dare she speak to him with such blatant disrespect? If anyone on his home planet had ever spoken to him like she had, he would have killed them on the spot. Hell, forget his home planet - if anyone outside of Frieza and his top lieutenants had ever spoken to him like Bulma did, they would have met a cruel and painful death.

But then there were times when the woman genuinely looked concerned about him, or when he caught her looking at him curiously like she was trying to figure him out. Vegeta hated those times the most because he didn't know what to make of them. He was used to people shrinking back in terror from him, not looking at him like that.

He just couldn't get a read on her at all.

* * *

 

"Vegeta destroyed the bots again," Bulma sighed as she sat with her parents at the dinner table. Upstairs, they could just barely hear the water running as Vegeta showered.

"That boy trains like a madman," Dr. Briefs remarked, his eyes on his food as he slowly cut into his dinner. He shook his head with a frown. "I really think he's overdoing it."

"Oh, nonsense," Bunny said, waving off the comment with a giggle. "That sweet boy is just dedicated. He wants to grow strong and he's so passionate. What's wrong with that?"

"Well, he's a jerk," Bulma mumbled. "He never even says  _please_ or  _thank you_ , just demands that things be done and barks out orders all the time. He just barged in on me tonight wanting me to drop everything and fix the bots for him. I am not his slave."

The heiress frowned, continuing to mindlessly pick at her mashed potatoes. She hadn't liked the look in Vegeta's eyes when she'd brought up the fact that Goku was stronger than him. She knew the man had pride but had perhaps underestimated how much he had. She'd struck a nerve, poured salt on a wound that wasn't healed.

And now she didn't like the guilt that lingered inside of her over it.

"Maybe that handsome boy is just hungry," Bunny said, looking over at her daughter with her eternal bright smile. "Why, he must be starving from how hard he works! Dear, why don't you take him some food?"

Bulma was about to object, before sighing and reluctantly relenting, "Yeah, I can't remember the last time his  _royal highness_ asked me to cook for him. I guess I should just be proactive and beat the jerk to the punch."

"Oh, Bulma, how is Yamcha doing?" her father asked, peering over at his daughter. "I haven't seen him around in a couple of days either. Has he been sparring with Vegeta in the gravity chamber?"

Bulma guffawed;  _that_ would be the day. "Dad, please. Vegeta could beat up Yamcha with one finger and with his eyes closed. Yamcha and I just haven't been able to meet up… he's been annoying me about that…" she sighed loudly as she remembered their earlier conversation. "Ugh, men are just impossible," she growled.

Her parents just chuckled. Bulma looked up at the ceiling, her mind going back to Vegeta. Food was smart; he was a Saiyan, so he was bound to be hungry. And who knew? It might help him unwind. The Saiyan prince was always agitated for no good reason that Bulma could figure out, always looking like he was ready to murder the next person he saw. His whole disposition was the worst she'd ever encountered in her life: he was crass, rude, impatient, and completely inconsiderate. Her brows furrowed as she finished her dinner, all the while trying to figure out just what Vegeta's deal was.

There had to be more to him than the hard shell he wore all the time…

* * *

 

Vegeta was pulling on some clean shorts when a knock came at his door. His eyes narrowed suspiciously as he immediately placed the person as that annoying wench of a woman. This was the first time she was actually seeking him out in his room, and it put him instantly on edge. Briefly, he wondered if she was already done making him new bots, but she wasn't  _that_ fast.

He opened the door, and his scowl was replaced by a look of surprise when he saw what she was carrying. Bulma also looked surprised to see that he was simply wearing some snug-fitting workout shorts. He was freshly showered and she was momentarily awestruck by how handsome he was…  _especially_ when the scowl briefly disappeared from his face.

"Hey you," Bulma said, giving him a friendly smile. He frowned at her when he saw it, unease settling into his stomach as he tried figuring her out.

_What is wrong with this woman?_

"I thought you must be hungry after training so hard the last couple days. I brought you some food. You have to eat when you work out so hard."

Vegeta looked back down at the plates of food she was carefully balancing in her arms. He grunted and stepped aside so she could enter his room. She walked over to his bed and placed some plates there and the rest on the desk in his room while he leaned against the wall by the door. Vegeta watched her carefully, his face completely impassive and his eyes hard as always as he crossed his arms over his chest. His eyes scrutinized every detail of her appearance, especially when she bent over to put his food down…

He immediately looked away when Bulma turned back to him, feeling angry and ashamed of himself. He was the Prince of all Saiyans, and he was here ogling some ordinary human girl.

As if  _she_ could ever have  _anything_ to offer him.

"Okay, well, here's some food for you," Bulma told him with another friendly smile.

Vegeta looked back at her, caught her smile, and sneered, "It's about time you learned some damn respect, woman."

Bulma's smile disappeared, replaced by a fiery glare. " _You're welcome_ , your majesty," she said snidely.

Vegeta couldn't help but crack a smirk, seeing that he was getting under her skin. This pleased him greatly, to be able to rile her up just like she did to him. "That's more like it."

"Ugh, you are  _impossible_!" Bulma yelled at him in frustration. "I'm  _trying_ to be nice here, Vegeta! Would a  _thank you_ kill you?"

"Perhaps," he remarked, his smirk growing a little. He motioned with his head towards the door next to him. "You can leave now, woman. You have work to do on the gravity room so that I can continue my training tomorrow."

"Well, you know  _what,_ your highness?" Bulma shot back as she put her hands on her waist. Vegeta grit his teeth at the mocking tone in her voice. "I won't be doing  _any_ work on your precious gravity room unless you ask me  _nicely_. What do you think about that, buddy?"

He snorted. "I  _think_ I'll just ask your father then. Perhaps you forget, but you aren't the only one here with a brain, woman."

_"My name is Bulma!"_

The two stared at each other intensely. Moments turned into seconds, and seconds began to trickle into minutes. Vegeta's intense glare met its match with Bulma's resilient stare, and neither side looked like it was going to back down any time soon.

Finally, Bulma's cell phone began to ring in her bedroom. Vegeta smirked when he heard it, and Bulma was infuriated by that annoying and completely maddening smirk. Oh, if she could smack that smirk right off the jerk's face (without risking her life and the planet's safety in the process), she wouldn't hesitate for a second.

"That must be your pathetic mate calling to beg you to see him," Vegeta said with a snort of disgust. "A  _real_ man wouldn't need to beg to see his woman."

"Like you would know, a girl would have to be clinically insane to ever give  _you_ a second look," Bulma shot back.

"Better run along now," Vegeta said, his smirk growing. "We wouldn't want the weakling to start crying, now would we?"

Bulma glared at him before heading to his door, her head held high. Just as she was passing him though, she stopped and reminded herself of what she'd said earlier. Taking a deep breath to calm her temper, Bulma looked over at Vegeta and studied him critically. He kept his eyes straight ahead, away from her even though he could still see her through his outstanding peripheral vision. His smirk slowly disappeared when he realized she hadn't left yet. He scowled as he felt her eyes lingering on him. Why the hell hadn't she left him yet, so he could be in peace?

Bulma's eyebrows furrowed a little as she saw how uncomfortable he was, and her expression softened. He was such an enigma, such a mystery man, a fierce warrior...

Not able to help herself, she felt compelled to say something more to him.

"Hey, really… I'm sorry about what I said about Goku. I really think that with the way you train, you have a great chance of surpassing him. I mean, you  _are_ the Prince of all Saiyans after all."

Half out of his doorway, her cell phone still ringing in the background, Bulma stayed as she waited to see if she'd get a response. Vegeta's jaw was clenched tightly, a muscle flexing there rhythmically, the tension clear in his body. He was within arm's reach, and inexplicably, she almost felt tempted to touch his arm just to put him at ease.

"Leave," Vegeta finally said gruffly, turning his head away from her. "Now."

Bulma sighed and did like he asked, running off to her room to try to catch whoever was calling her. Vegeta heard her running, and his muscles finally relaxed now that she was gone.

_That damn woman,_ he thought, mentally cursing her as he released a deep breath.  _She has some nerve..._

He stubbornly stood there against the wall for a long time, not wanting to eat the food she'd brought him. But the smell was too strong, and he decided he might as well not let it go to waste.


	2. Infiltrations

He knew something was wrong as soon as he turned on the light in the gravity room.

Vegeta glanced around suspiciously, but he saw nothing out of the ordinary. The walls had been reinforced by Bulma to keep the room completely sound proofed so he could concentrate on his training. It had been a week since he had last seen her, and for that he was grateful. She had done her work, and that was all he required of her. Besides those reinforcements, he saw nothing.

A scowl came across his face as his eyes told him that everything was the same as it always was, even though his instincts were telling him otherwise. He slowly walked over to the control panel, reaching out to start the gravity simulation. He rested his fingers lightly on the keys, but did not press them.

His body tensed as he took a deep breath. Someone had been there. He could smell them. But who?

He identified the person the smell belonged to a fraction of a second later, and he let out an angry growl. Immediately, he turned on his heel and marched right back out of the gravity room, his hands clenched into tight fists.

* * *

 

Bulma was sitting down in front of her home, bored out of her skull as she watched Yamcha practice his punching combinations. She'd been sitting out here with him for a half hour now, and tried to keep herself entertained by watching her boyfriend work up a sweat. But even Yamcha's attractiveness couldn't erase her annoyance that she was sitting out here being ignored when she had work that was waiting for her. The heiress sighed loudly, wishing she had at the very least brought along a magazine. At least that would've been more entertaining.

"How much longer are you planning on sparring with the air?" Bulma finally asked, boredom filling every syllable.

"Bulma," Yamcha sighed, looking at her out of the corner of his eye in exasperation. He loved his girlfriend to death, truly he did, but sometimes she made things very difficult. "I have to take my training seriously. I told you that I would call you when I'm done, and we can hang out then. I didn't ask you to sit here and watch me."

"Look, you were bitching this whole week because you said I wasn't making time for you, well, I made time for you today!" Bulma growled at him. "And for what? For you to blow me off saying you have to train?"

"I'm sorry," Yamcha apologized, lowering his arms and finally turning to look at her. "It's just, I found out yesterday that I'm way behind where I could be…"

He frowned as he remembered sneaking into Vegeta's gravity room the night before. He'd wanted to prove to the Saiyan (and to himself) that he could also handle the rigorous training environment that Vegeta thrived in. It hadn't escaped his attention that through her complaining about the Saiyan prince were a sprinkle of occasions when Bulma spoke of Vegeta's phenomenal work ethic with admiration in her voice. Eager to show his girlfriend that he wasn't exactly weak himself, he'd activated the gravity simulation to 300 times Earth's gravity - only to almost be squashed to death. Not having even lasted a minute, he'd crawled out of the gravity room, his pride hurting the most. He felt pathetic, and only then truly realized how weak he was in comparison to the Saiyan Prince.

Yamcha briefly considered telling Bulma about what happened, but then decided not to. He just gave her an apologetic look and a half-hearted shrug, before getting back to work.

"Fine, whatever then," Bulma said dismissively, seeing that she was just wasting her time here with him. She gave him a glare before getting up to her feet. "I'm just going to go help my dad then."

"I'll call you later?" Yamcha said enthusiastically, smiling nervously.

Bulma had an acidic answer ready on her tongue when the air suddenly gushed around them. Yamcha turned around just in time to see Vegeta land on his feet behind him, his blue aura firing and flaming up around him. He was wearing his usual training shorts and an old pair of gym shoes that Bulma's father had lent him to train with. Yamcha yelped and backed up in surprise, backing up right into Bulma. The two landed sitting down next to each other on the ground, both wide eyed as they looked up at the Saiyan prince.

"Vegeta, what do you think you're doing!" Yamcha yelled, scrambling up to his feet. Bulma stayed sitting, surprised at the cold hatred on Vegeta's face as the air continued to rush and spark around him.

"So," Vegeta said, his tone conversational as his dark gaze settled on Yamcha, "You came into my gravity room, eh? Were you looking for me? Because if so, here I am."

Yamcha visibly paled. He'd made sure to leave the gravity room exactly as he found it and couldn't believe he'd been busted. Swallowing heavily, he opened his mouth to speak and defend himself, but his mouth was suddenly drier than sand.

"Aw, what's the matter, human? You came looking for me, and now that I'm here, you don't want to play anymore," Vegeta snarled mockingly.

"You don't scare me, Vegeta!" Yamcha shot back, finally finding his voice. He wasn't about to be so easily intimidated by Vegeta, and especially not in front of Bulma. Summoning up his courage, he warily crouched into a defensive position so he'd be ready to engage the Saiyan if needed, even though he knew he didn't stand a chance. Vegeta raised an amused eyebrow at this. The human paled in comparison to Kakarot's child in strength, skill, and speed. And he wanted to face  _him?_

"Ah, so you  _did_ come looking for a fight."

"No, I didn't, I just… I just wanted to see if I could handle the gravity simulation…" Yamcha reluctantly admitted in hopes of diffusing the situation. His face burned red from his embarrassment; he couldn't believe he was actually admitting this to Vegeta of all people. Bulma's head immediately snapped to him, her blue eyes widening in shock at what her boyfriend had just said. She got up to her feet angrily and hit her boyfriend as hard as she could on his arm.

"Yamcha, what is the matter with you! You know that's too much for you!" Bulma chastised him, making Yamcha's embarrassment increase via tenfold. "What if something had happened to you in there, huh? We would've had to scrape you off the floor, you idiot!"

"You should listen to your mate," Vegeta said with a chuckle, crossing his arms over his chest. "You, in  _my_  gravity chamber? To be perfectly honest, I'm surprised you are still alive, weakling."

Yamcha felt his fury flare as he glared at the Saiyan Prince. "I wasn't looking to fight you when I went into the gravity room, Vegeta, but if you came here to pick a fight then I'll give you a fight!" he yelled.

"Very well, human," Vegeta said with an amused smirk, clenching his fists, the air around him rushing faster and physically forcing Bulma and Yamcha back to the ground as his blue aura exploded around him. Yamcha gulped.

_What have I gotten myself into?_

"You should know that a Saiyan never backs down from a challenge. You won't be much competition, but you'll serve as a suitable warmup." Vegeta's smirk grew, a glimmer of dark, murderous intent in his eyes. "I must warn you though, that fights with me only end in death. So what do you say, weakling? Are you prepared to die?"

"Stop this!" Bulma yelled, getting back up to her feet. She stalked angrily right up to Vegeta, earning a momentary look of surprise from him. "Stop this right now!"

Vegeta's surprise quickly melted away into anger. Who the hell did this Earth woman think she was, barking orders at  _him?_ He gave her a threatening sneer as she came up to stand right in front of him.

"Blasted woman, get out of my way!" Vegeta growled, motioning with his arm for her to move as he gave her a fierce glare. "Unless you want to die along with your mate!"

"Bulma, get away from him!" Yamcha shouted, suddenly terrified of her proximity to the Saiyan Prince. What in the world was his girlfriend doing? Had she gone completely mad? She was only about a foot away from _Vegeta_ of all people! His protective urges igniting inside of him, Yamcha scrambled up to his own feet in record time and ran towards them. Bulma looked over her shoulder and motioned for him to stop. Yamcha did when he saw the look on her face, but his whole body was tense. She was just standing too close to Vegeta for his own comfort. Yamcha clenched his teeth as he watched, ready to defend Bulma at any moment if necessary.

"Oh, he's not going to do a thing to me," Bulma said over her shoulder, before turning to glare at the prince in front of her. A deep scowl settled into Vegeta's features when she fearlessly walked closer to him, until they were only inches apart. "You don't scare  _me,_ Vegeta," she told him matter-of-factly, her blue eyes blazing with determination.

"I should," he told her coldly, his dark eyes boring straight into hers.

"Sorry to disappoint," she told him calmly, raising an almost challenging eyebrow.

Vegeta's eye twitched involuntarily when he saw no fear in her eyes. "Get out of my way, or I  _will_ kill you, woman," he warned her bluntly, his tone conveying no signs of bluffing. "Do  _not_ test me."

"I don't believe you."

He growled and the air around him began to spark with his dangerous energy as he got in her face. It took all of Bulma's strength to remain standing and not fall on her behind from the forces he was effortlessly generating.

"Are you calling me a coward, woman?" Vegeta snarled, the threat of violent punishment dripping from each syllable.

"No, no, not at all," Bulma clarified, before giving him a warm smile. A look of confusion came over Vegeta's face at that, and his energy level waned a bit. Her smile only grew more as she put her hands on her hips and gave him a knowing look, as if she knew a secret that he didn't. "But Krillin and Gohan told me about you when you were on Namek, about how you saved their lives against the Ginyu Force… a guy like that can't be  _that_ bad."

"I have killed millions and have ended entire races, entire civilizations. I am more than capable of destroying you, your mate, and your entire worthless human race!" Vegeta nearly screamed in her face, his energy level rising dangerously again. "I spared your pathetic friends because I needed their help to defeat Frieza!"

"Then why aren't Yamcha and me dead yet? Hm?" Bulma challenged, not budging an inch.

"Bulma," Yamcha said from behind her, his voice pleading. He was slowly coming up to her, trying his best not to draw Vegeta's attention or his wrath but the Saiyan Prince had his eyes trained solely on the woman in front of him.

"Get out of the fucking way, woman," Vegeta finally repeated through clenched teeth, his voice low and murderous. "I will not tell you again. This does not concern you."

Bulma felt her resolve waver a bit at the cold look in his eyes. She knew that Vegeta wasn't bluffing; she was well aware of the chaos and violence he was capable of, and had seen it up close and personal when he had viciously dismantled and then killed one of Frieza's evil lieutenants on Namek. She also knew that he wasn't lying or exaggerating when he said that millions had died at his hands.

But what  _she_ had said was true as well, and her pride refused to let the Saiyan Prince win this battle of wills. Someone had to take a stand to him, someone had to knock him down a notch or two and show him that this type of behavior was unacceptable.

Someone had to show him that he could be a better person.

Krillin had told her over the last week the story that Vegeta had told him, Gohan, Piccolo, and Goku as he had laid dying in the dirt on Namek. He had told her how Vegeta had grown up living under the command of Frieza, and how Frieza had blackmailed the youth into doing his bidding by threatening his father. She felt like she understood Vegeta much better after that, and when Krillin told her that Vegeta had actually saved his life and Gohan's, she knew then that Vegeta was not hopeless… not anymore.

He had learned to be heartless and cruel, but he could unlearn it too. She didn't know how just yet, but she knew and truly believed that he could. She had left him alone the rest of the week, in peace, as she had contemplated how to break through his hardened shell.

But now here he was, having literally dropped in on her and Yamcha. If she backed down now, he would never respect her. And how would he ever let her in, if he didn't respect her?

It was now or never. She had to take a stand.

"Now you listen  _here,_ " Bulma told him angrily, reaching out and poking Vegeta right on his bare chest. It actually physically hurt her finger to touch him what with his enormous energy level, but she was beyond caring at this point. Someone needed to do this, and that someone might as well be her.

"Bulma!" Yamcha yelled, his eyes wide as he saw her actually touch Vegeta.

A brief look of genuine shock came over Vegeta's face as she actually touched him, Yamcha's presence mere feet away completely forgotten about. He couldn't believe it; whereas everyone usually recoiled from him in terror, this frail and weak woman actually stood her ground. He'd thought she was just a foolish and ridiculous human, but it turned out that she had tremendous courage, much more than he had ever given her credit for. The prince quickly erased the look of shock off his face, but against his will, a small inkling of admiration crept up through his chest.

"You are staying in  _my_ house," Bulma continued, completely ignoring Yamcha as she poked Vegeta again on his chest, making the Saiyan flinch, "And you are using  _my_ gravity room to train with. If I want to, I'll go and _blow_ that gravity room up and then you will have nothing to train with. And then how will you be ready for the androids? You won't be," she said sternly, watching as he looked away from her and off to the side as he tried containing his fury.

"You stay in  _my_ house, then you listen to  _my_ rules, you got that buddy? And one of the rules is  _no fighting!_ Is that understood?"

Vegeta clenched his teeth together angrily, his veins strained with tension as he struggled to maintain his composure. Unfortunately, he did need the equipment that only this woman and her family could provide. He exhaled slowly and Bulma watched in satisfaction as his energy level decreased.

Finally, the aura around him disappeared. He took another deep breath before turning back to face her, his face impassive as he simply looked at her for a moment. He then looked over her shoulder at Yamcha, whose jaw was dropped as he watched them both.

"Consider yourself lucky, human," Vegeta sneered at him. Yamcha gulped and backed up as Vegeta turned his eyes back on Bulma. They stared at each other for a while, Bulma's face triumphant and Vegeta's set in stone. She was right, and that infuriated him. "Do not get so arrogant, woman," he warned her, his tone irritated. "You are simply more useful to me alive than dead. That is the only reason your heart still beats."

"Mhmm,  _suuure_ ," Bulma said smugly, before breaking into a bright grin. "Hey, I'll tell you what. How about you take a break from your training and I'll make you some breakfast? I'll make you some pancakes."

Vegeta glared at her before crossing his arms over his chest. With a grunt, he looked off to the side, making his best effort to ignore the fact that he was, in fact, starving. Bulma's grin just grew; he was a stubborn one, alright, but so was she. She turned around and walked over to the front door before looking back over at Vegeta and Yamcha.

"Come on boys, I'll make you both a breakfast feast so you guys can keep training hard," she told them brightly, before disappearing inside to do just that.

"Damn woman," Vegeta muttered under his breath. He almost couldn't wait until the androids came so he finally wouldn't have a need to be housed with such an infuriating female anymore.

"Wow…" Yamcha finally breathed out, his eyes on the door that Bulma had just gone through, his heart surging with love and admiration for his girlfriend who had more guts than he did. "That girl is something else…"

Vegeta found himself silently agreeing, before scowling and stalking up to Yamcha. He reached out and grabbed a fistful of Yamcha's shirt, forcefully yanking the taller man down to him.

"Hey!"

"If you  _ever_ step foot inside my gravity room again, I will kill you, human," Vegeta snarled in his face. Fear came across Yamcha's face at the fury in Vegeta's eyes. "And your mate will not be there to save you next time. Understand?"

Vegeta shoved Yamcha back, sending the man sprawling on the grass. Yamcha groaned when he landed hard, before sitting up to glare at the Saiyan Prince. Vegeta though had already disappeared. Yamcha scowled and muttered curses under his breath for the Saiyan. The sooner that man left his life and Bulma's, the better.

Meanwhile, Bulma heard a chair scrape across her kitchen floor as she made a few boxes worth of pancake mix for both Yamcha and Vegeta. She shook her head in disapproval, not bothering to look behind her and just assuming it was Yamcha.

"I can't  _believe_ you actually snuck into the gravity room, you idiot," she sighed as she continued mixing. Vegeta simply watched her from behind, his dark eyes roaming over her figure before finally settling on her hips. "You could have seriously been hurt. Don't tell me you actually activated the simulator to its maximum. You better have kept it under…"

The heiress lost her trail of thought when she turned around, only to find that it was Vegeta who was sitting at her kitchen table. The Saiyan Prince just looked at her, his face expressionless and guarded. He did raise an eyebrow at her silence though.

"Don't tell me you are out of words already, woman," he said, his tone detached. "You seemed to have plenty when we were outside and you were standing up to me."

"I… I'm sorry, I thought you were Yamcha," Bulma said apologetically. She gave him a wary look before turning back around and pouring out the pancake mix with precision into several pans as Vegeta watched.

"Do not compare me to your weakling mate ever again," Vegeta warned her. Bulma just sighed and rolled her eyes. Always agitated, that was about right when it came to him. Vegeta scowled as he watched her pour out the pancake mix. "And what the devil are you making? Are you going to poison me?"

"I'm making pancakes," Bulma replied with a patient tone. She looked over her shoulder and smiled a little at the brief confusion in his eyes. "It's just food, Vegeta."

"I  _know_ that," Vegeta growled defensively, crossing his arms over his chest. "You Earthlings and your ridiculous food," he muttered, though the smell that filled the kitchen was making him practically salivate in anticipation.

Yamcha finally entered the kitchen just then, rubbing his back a little. He scowled at the sight of Vegeta sitting at the kitchen table. He'd been hoping the Saiyan bastard would've gone back to his training, but it didn't seem like he was that lucky today. Vegeta snorted in amusement at the sight of him.

"What's the matter? Don't tell me I hurt you already," Vegeta told him, a smirk spreading over his face.

"Yeah, whatever man," Yamcha mumbled, sitting down across the table from Vegeta.

"Pathetic," Vegeta said in disgust.

"Stop it, both of you," Bulma warned, before placing a plate with an enormous amount of pancakes in between them. She took a smaller plate and placed three neat stacks of five pancakes each on the plate, before bringing that plate over to Vegeta. He scowled as she placed it in front of him.

"What do I do with these?" Vegeta asked impatiently, looking curiously at the food in front of him. He was more of a dinner man than a breakfast man, much preferring the meats that Bulma or her mother prepared for dinner than the early morning foods. Bulma handed him a fork and knife, laughing a little as she brought him a bottle of syrup.

"Here, I'll show you," Bulma said, opening the bottle and pouring syrup all over his pancakes. He watched the process with his usual intense concentration, learning. The whole idea of condiments on food was one he wasn't used to, and it seemed to him that humans had an outrageous amount of crap to put on their food. Bulma snuck him a look when he picked up his fork and knife, and smiled with satisfaction that he had remembered how she had showed him to properly hold them. She had only shown him once, and that was months ago before he had gone into space after Goku. She'd been pissed at him at the time because he had been extremely difficult and then completely dismissive of her efforts, and she couldn't help but feel satisfied that he had not only been paying attention, but had remembered perfectly.

"What is that, anyways?" Vegeta demanded, glaring at the syrup with a look like it would attack him at any moment.

"It's syrup, it gives the pancakes more flavor," Bulma patiently explained. "Now you just cut up the pancakes, and enjoy." He grunted and began to eat as she watched him for a moment, still impressed that he had actually been paying attention to her before. Her smile spread a little.

Yamcha suddenly cleared his throat. "Um, Bulma? I'm kinda starving over here you know…"

"Oh yeah," Bulma laughed, turning towards Yamcha. "Sorry babe."

Vegeta ate silently as Bulma served Yamcha, never having tasted anything like what he was eating but loving every single bite. He often complained about humans and their food choices, but the truth of the matter was that compared to the food options he'd had while working for Frieza, even this plate of pancakes tasted like a damn royal feast. Of course, he would never admit that to any of the humans he was housed with. He didn't even give Bulma a look or acknowledgment as she brought him a large glass of orange juice. He immediately grasped the glass from her hand and downed the entire thing in one effort as Bulma and Yamcha both looked at him in shock.

Finally, Vegeta placed the empty glass down and pushed it lightly towards Bulma.

"Fill it," he ordered, "now."

Bulma growled, hating that he spoke to her like she was a damn slave, but she kept her temper in check. He was there, sitting with them, and she wasn't going to push his buttons (if she could help it). Yamcha glared at Vegeta as Bulma took his glass and went to refill it.

"Jerk," Yamcha muttered under his breath. Vegeta looked up and gave Yamcha a cold glare, and Yamcha responded by quickly shoving a forkful of pancakes into his mouth.

"Here you go," Bulma said brightly, placing a glass of juice in front of the prince. She waited for a thank you, but it never came. "You're  _welcome_ ," she told him sarcastically. Vegeta just smirked, finishing the last bite of his pancakes. He then shoved the plate towards her, silently ordering more, and she sighed and placed ten more pancakes on his plate. She was going to pour the syrup for him, but could only blink when Vegeta snatched the bottle first and did it himself.

"So, is there a movie out we can see tonight?" Yamcha said, his mouth full of food. Vegeta and Bulma both looked over at him and gave him simultaneous looks of disgust. Yamcha blinked in surprise, before defensively asking, "What?"

"You're eating like a cow, that's what," Bulma told him, annoyance in her voice. She motioned towards Vegeta, "Look, you don't see Vegeta eating with such poor manners, do you?"

Vegeta grunted as he started working on his second serving of pancakes, eyeing Bulma carefully as she finally sat down between them to enjoy her breakfast. He couldn't help but smirk at the annoyance on her face towards her mate.

"Well, at least I can say please and thank you," Yamcha muttered.

"Yes, too bad I can't just combine the both of you," Bulma replied sarcastically.

"Whatever," Yamcha answered, angrily cutting into his pancakes.

"How did you learn to eat with such manners anyways?" Bulma asked Vegeta suddenly, startling the prince who hadn't been expecting to be dragged into this useless human conversation. He glared at her while he chewed quietly, wondering if he should even bother answering. Finally, he swallowed and figured he'd humor her.

"I learned when I was a boy," Vegeta replied, thinking that would be the end of it.

"Oh? With Frieza?" Bulma asked curiously.

Vegeta's fork and knife dropped suddenly, startling Bulma and Yamcha. Vegeta shoved his plate with his half-eaten pancakes away and stood up.

"That is enough," he said, his tone and expression cold. "It's time I resume my training and stop this human foolishness."

Before Bulma could say a word, he was gone. She sighed in disappointment, watching the door where he'd just stormed out of, realizing for the first time how sore a subject Frieza must have been to the Saiyan. Yamcha just shook his head knowingly, as if he'd known all along.

"That guy is  _such_ a jerk. Honestly, you should just put the gravity chamber back in its capsule, and let him go off to a deserted island to train. Ingrate," Yamcha said with a sneer.

"Oh, just leave Vegeta alone," Bulma told him, turning back to her food with a thoughtful expression. "You don't know what he's been through in his life."

"Yeah, and what, you do?" Yamcha asked her, snorting as if it was stupid question.

"You're just as much of a jerk as he is sometimes," Bulma replied in disgust. "No, I don't know what he's been through."

But she was determined to find out.


	3. Pain

" _Come here, boy. The rest of you, leave us."_

_Vegeta approached his father who had his back turned to him while his father's best soldiers left the room. The small boy glanced at them, a scowl on his young face as he walked up to his father. His royal cape attached to his custom-made Saiyan armor flowed behind him gracefully as he walked to his father and his king. A strange feeling of unease coursed through his young body at the sound of his father's tone. It was unfamiliar to him, and he didn't know what it meant._

_He stopped when he was on his father's right side, and crossed his arms across his chest. They both stood there, gazing out of the glass together in silence. Vegeta observed the vast land of the planet he and his father were named after, the land that he would one day rule over when his time came to be king._

" _You called for me, Father?" Vegeta finally asked, his eyes still staring straight ahead._

" _Frieza is expecting a full report on our progress in overtaking the planet Tazba," King Vegeta said bluntly, his deep voice echoing in the room. He also kept his eyes straight ahead. "We are anticipating having overtaken the planet for him by tonight. Tomorrow we will go and give him the report on what has transpired."_

_Vegeta nodded, not knowing what this all had to do with him. His father rarely involved him in his business affairs with Frieza. He was just a boy, but he knew the tyrant named Frieza had control over his father and his people. He therefore didn't much care that he was rarely present to see the humiliation in person._

" _You are coming with us tomorrow, boy," King Vegeta said. Vegeta nodded again, not exactly thrilled at the idea of watching his father report to the alien freak that was Frieza. He knew better though than to voice such a thought._

" _Yes, Father. Are you going to begin training me in your business affairs for the day that I become king?"_

_His father tensed, and an eerie quiet filled the room. Vegeta noticed his father's tension, but remained quiet as he curiously observed him out of the corner of his eye. He didn't understand why his father was behaving so strangely._

_King Vegeta then placed a hand on his son's shoulder. Vegeta turned to him then, his mask of indifference disappearing as he gazed up at his father with confused eyes, his arms now at his sides._

" _Father? Is something wrong?" Vegeta asked._

_King Vegeta turned and looked down at the boy before him, the boy that looked so much like him. "You are coming with us tomorrow to see Frieza, son. And..." the king paused, pain and regret in his eyes, "You are going to stay with Frieza."_

_Vegeta's mouth ran dry. The boy turned away from his father and looked back out the glass window, fear crawling up his spine at the words his father was saying. He looked at the land before him, and slowly realized that his life was never going to be the same._

" _But I do not want to go with him, Father," he finally said in a low voice. His face was impassive and indifferent as he spoke, but his voice betrayed the pain that was consuming his very being at the future that awaited him. "I want to stay here with you."_

" _And I do not want you with him," King Vegeta said, keeping his hand on his son's shoulder as he also turned to look out the window again. "But there is nothing we can do, son. He wants you, and therefore, he must have you. If I do not give him to you, he will kill you."_

" _I will fight him," Vegeta said, the pain in his voice gone and replaced with pure hatred as his small body trembled with rage. King Vegeta looked down at him, feeling his son's growing energy level. "I will destroy him and free us from his reign. I will destroy him!" he shouted._

" _Quiet, boy!" King Vegeta said sternly, grabbing his son suddenly by the collar and lifting the boy off the ground so they were eye-to-eye. He shook him angrily, "Do not speak these words again, do you understand! If one of Frieza's men hear your words, they will kill you! Do not be a fool, boy!"_

_He let Vegeta go, and the boy fell on the floor in a heap. He sat up, his eyes closed as he fought to keep his unshed tears in, his teeth clenched tightly. He could feel the hatred in his body growing as he realized that his father was right._

_There was nothing they could do._

" _Stand up, Vegeta," the king commanded sternly. The boy slowly stood, his fists clenched as he faced his father, his head lowered and his eyes still closed. The king's expression softened as he gazed at his son, and his tone was calm when he spoke again, "Look at me, boy."_

_Vegeta slowly raised his head, his face full of hatred for Frieza. His reddened eyes, brimming with unshed tears, met his father's._

" _I am a prince, Father, and now… now, I am going to be a slave," Vegeta said, his voice void of emotion. King Vegeta winced inwardly at the words, before frowning at his son. He knelt down so that they were on the same level._

" _You listen to me, boy," King Vegeta said, putting each of his hands on his son's shoulders. "You are my son, and the prince of our people. No matter what happens, you must never forget who you are. No matter what Frieza says or does to you, you must remember that you are Prince Vegeta, and that you have the potential to be the most powerful Saiyan who has ever lived. You must never show Frieza any weaknesses, and you must never forget your heritage. You must be strong, son."_

" _Yes, Father," Vegeta said with a nod, his eyes fiercely determined as he looked his father right in the eye. "I will not forget."_

" _Do not worry, my son," King Vegeta said with a smirk as he stood. He kept an arm around Vegeta as they both turned to look at the land before them. "Frieza will not rule over us forever. We will end his reign of terror, and we will come for you and take you away from him, Vegeta. Then one day, you will rise and take your place as the new king of the Saiyans."_

_Vegeta smirked at that, his fear gone as he crossed his arms again. "I look forward to that day, Father. I will be ready."_

" _I know you will, boy. Now go, you must prepare your things for our departure tomorrow…"_

_Vegeta nodded and turned, walking back the way he came. Before he left the room, he glanced over his shoulder at his father. The king once again had his back to the prince and he gazed out through the glass and into the night._

" _Father?" The king turned his head slightly, not looking back at his son, but enough to acknowledge him. Vegeta hesitated, not wanting to ask but needing to ask. "Do you promise that you will come for me?"_

_The king turned back to look out in the night, not wanting his son to see the uncertainty on his face. Convincingly, he replied, "Son, you have my word…"_

* * *

Vegeta woke up with a start, sitting straight up in his bed. He was breathing heavily, a thin sheet of sweat covering his body. With a shaky hand, he removed the bed sheets and moved so he was sitting on the edge of his bed. He rested his elbows on his knees, leaned forward, and covered his face in his hands.

He stayed in that position for a long time as his breathing returned to normal. His flashback had been so _real_ , he could practically feel his father's arm around him again. Something tore at him inside as he remembered that feeling.

His father's "word" had turned out to be a fucking joke.

Slowly, Vegeta started wiping the sweat off his face and the bitter taste of his dream away. Sometimes he had pin-point accurate flashbacks, other times he had warped nightmares. He didn't know which were worse, but at the end of the day, the end result was the same: he hardly ever got a good night's sleep. He took a deep breath, before glancing over at the time. The bright red digits on the digital clock read 4:27AM. Slowly, he stood up. A dull ache spread through his muscles from his training the day before. He ignored it though and walked to the window in his room, pulling the curtain back. The sun was not yet up, and it was dark outside.

Vegeta was feeling rather dark himself, feeling that old familiar hatred consuming him again, the hatred he had learned to swallow back as a child. Without a sound, he turned and dressed to begin his training. It would do him well to push himself physically and replace the pain that was flaring up inside of him at the thought of his extremely complicated relationship with his father.

A short while later, he was walking down a hallway to go outside when he saw a dim light coming from the kitchen. He frowned, wondering who was awake at this hour. He didn't know much about human sleep patterns, but he learned that it was rare for the Earthlings to be awake before the sun rose. Sometimes the woman would be awake around 1 or 2AM finishing some scientific work, but he had never seen someone awake this late.

Curiosity getting the best of him, Vegeta walked into the kitchen. He blinked in surprise when he saw Bulma asleep at the table, her head resting in her folded arms as with her head turned away from him. From the light and steady breathing though, she was definitely asleep. There was an intricate circuit board laid out in front of her with various tools and a pair of gloves and goggles. He glanced over at the thing the humans called a coffee machine and saw that there was a cup there and it was filled with what looked like cold coffee. It looked like she had come to the kitchen and was working while her coffee brewed, but hadn't lasted long enough to have her cup of coffee.

He scowled at her and was about to turn to leave when she sighed and sleepily raised her head. His eyes widened as he wondered if she had actually heard him. But how? He hadn't made a single sound.

But Bulma just laid her head back down, this time facing him as she went back to sleep, her eyes never opening. She sighed deeply, before her breathing went back to its slow and deep sleep pattern. Vegeta stood there, captivated, his scowl gone as he stared at her.

She looked so peaceful in her sleep… she looked so… so…

_Beautiful._

A slow urge slowly started in his stomach and began to travel downwards as he thought of all the things he wanted to do to her. It had been so long since he had been with a woman, especially one as beautiful as her…

He quickly became aware of the familiar feeling coursing through him, and growled impatiently at himself for being so ridiculous. She was a human, one who loved Kakarot, one who had a mate, and one who was loud and overall annoying. The women he had taken to bed had been willing whores, only suitable for servicing him sexually and then never to be seen or heard from again. Sometimes, he had even killed them himself after using them, depending on how pissed he was feeling. The mere notion of entertaining the thoughts in his head with the woman before him was completely and utterly absurd.

Vegeta sneered at her and left the kitchen, without looking back.

* * *

"Well, I still don't think you and your parents should let him stay here," Yamcha said as he scowled at Bulma. She sighed loudly, placing her cup of coffee down as she looked pointedly at him. His scowl just deepened, "Bulma, come on! Look at what happened yesterday! The guy almost killed us both!"

"But he _didn't_ ," Bulma countered defensively. "So really, it's a moot point."

"Hardly," Yamcha scoffed, pulling his coffee mug closer to him. "Don't you remember what he did to us when he first came to Earth, B? It's because of _him_ that I was killed," he sneered in disgust.

Bulma sighed. She already knew where this conversation was going. She took a small sip of her coffee before studying her boyfriend for a few seconds. Finally, she covered one of his hands with her own and gave him a lighthearted smile.

"Yamcha, babe, that was then and this is now. If Vegeta truly, _truly_ wanted us both dead yesterday, we would be. But we're not, see? I, for one, am _very_ much alive," Bulma told him with a wicked and flirtatious smirk. He smirked too when he recognized the playful look in his girlfriend's eyes.

"I can tell," he teased, leaning closer to her. His eyes dropped to her lips, which she licked in anticipation…

Suddenly, the entire house began to shake, the violent rocking sending Bulma and Yamcha off their chairs and crashing to the floor. There was a horrendous sound of glass shattering and metal screeching before the unmistakable sound of an explosion was heard. Finally, everything stopped and was still.

Yamcha and Bulma both sat up and looked at each other, somewhat dazed as Bulma's father shouted from his downstairs laboratory, "What was that?"

"Oh dear, there's smoke outside!" Bunny yelled, pressing her palms up against the window in their large living room. Bulma's eyes widened at her mother's words, realizing there was only one thing that could have caused the entire house to rock like it did.

"Oh no…" she breathed out. Immediately, she was up on her feet and running outside, Yamcha right on her heels.

The metal was ripped and shredded apart, pieces lying everywhere as smoke rose up in the air from the chamber. There were pieces still falling off the chamber from the explosion, and, as Bulma noted with horror, Vegeta was lying right in the middle of the wreckage.

Vegeta's eyes were half open as he stared up at the bright sky, unable to move his bloodied and bruised body even an inch. He felt the pain tearing through him, and knew that he was seriously injured. Always in tune with himself, he could actually feel himself growing weaker as each moment passed. There was a dull ache in the back of his head and it was making it hard as hell to remember what had just happened.

When he couldn't handle the brightness of the daylight anymore, he closed his eyes, welcoming the physical pain. Physical pain, he could deal with. He'd been dealing physical pain his entire life at the hands of Frieza. Losing himself in this pain, he could forget everything...

Bulma's heart sank when she finally reached him. His body was badly bruised, and he didn't seem to be conscious. She should've known this might happen, how could she not have thought of it? She fell to her knees next to him, one hand immediately going to the side of his face.

"Vegeta?" she asked him gently, fear in her voice as she gingerly turned his face towards her. When she got no response, she looked back at Yamcha. "We need help!"

"Right!" Yamcha said, running off to phone someone. Bulma looked down at Vegeta again, and patted his cheek in an effort to rouse him.

"Vegeta, hey, Vegeta, can you hear me?" she asked him gently, trying to keep the panic out of her voice when she took a quick scan of his bloodied and bruised form. Looking back at his face, Bulma sighed with relief when his eyes fluttered a little. Vegeta grimaced before being vaguely aware that the light was now being blocked. He released a low groan and forced himself to squint up at her, and she gave him a small smile. "Hey you, don't scare me like that…"

Weakly, Vegeta tried to push her away from him, though it took practically all his remaining strength to do so. It was in vain anyways. He was spent.

"Idiot woman, get away from me," he hissed, indignant over her "helping" him. Bulma rolled her eyes and grabbed one of his arms, hauling him up so he was semi-sitting while she single-handedly held him up. Vegeta bit his bottom lip hard so he wouldn't whimper at the sensation of being in her arms. Her hands were so unbelievably soft against his calloused skin.

"Vegeta, you need help, so relax," Bulma told him sternly. He closed his eyes and grimaced from the pain, and her forehead wrinkled with concern.

"I do not need your help," he told her through clenched teeth, but he was just too weak to fight her. "I must train, I must surpass Kakarot…"

"Train, are you crazy!" Bulma chastised, frowning at him. Vegeta could feel his energy slipping dangerously low, and it suddenly dawned on him that he might actually die. How stupid had he been?

Then he felt Bulma's fingers gently run through his hair and he immediately lost his train of thought. His body shuddered involuntarily at the unexpected and incredible sensation, and this time, he couldn't help the low whimper of pleasure that escaped him. Her hands felt so, so good on him…

"You're too hurt to train, you need to rest for a while, tough guy," Bulma told him soothingly. He opened his eyes a little to peer up at her in mild confusion. Why was she even there, and why was she holding him and touching him like this?

"I take orders from no one," he growled weakly. Bulma sighed and continued running her fingers through his hair, noting that it seemed to soothe him and hoping it would keep him calm until help arrived. And if she was being honest with himself, she was thrilled that he was letting her actually touch his hair.

Suddenly, a coughing spell came over him and he began to cough violently. Bulma held him through it all, and watched in horror as he began to cough up blood. He rested his head back when it was done, breathing heavily and completely exhausted.

"You'll be okay, we'll help you," she told him, her voice shaky and tears stinging her eyes. He was seriously injured, and she could hear the ambulance sirens now in the background. Couldn't they hurry? "You'll be okay," she assured him again, seeing Yamcha running towards them with her parents in tow.

Vegeta peered up at her again, confused about the look in her eyes as she looked down at him. He didn't recognize that look, that emotion… why was she looking at him like that? He opened his mouth a little to ask, but before he could form the right words, he felt his eyes roll back as he finally passed out.

The last thing he remembered before his world faded to black was her voice cracking as she whispered his name.


End file.
